Motor power controller for a disk drive, disk drive comprising a motor power controller and method for controlling the motor power of a disk drive

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a motor power controller for a disk drive. Further on, the present invention relates to a disk drive comprising a motor power controller and to a method for controlling the motor power of a disk drive. Portable computers like laptop computers or portable audio/video systems like DVD players or other portable devices operate usually on battery power. An important factor in determining battery life is the disk drive. For that, in order to maximize battery life-time, the efficiency of the disk drive has to be improved. The present invention provides a motor power controller for a disk drive, especially for a disk drive of a portable device, comprising means defining at least two operation states of said disk drive, a first operation state running a motor of said disk drive continuously, and a second operation state spinning said motor up at the beginning of each data operation and spinning said motor down at the end of each data operation. The motor power controller comprises means transitioning said disk drive from said first operation state to said second operation state when a time interval being longer than a predetermined period of time without any data requests is determined. Further on, the motor power controller comprises means transitioning said disk drive from said second operation state to said first operation state when a predetermined number of time intervals between consecutive data requests are determined all or each of them being smaller than said predetermined period of time.

The present invention relates to a motor power controller for a disk drive. Further on, the present invention relates to a disk drive comprising a motor power controller and to a method for controlling the motor power of a disk drive.

For the following description, a disk drive shall be defined as an optical drive like a CD-ROM drive or a magnetic drive like a diskette drive or a magneto-optical drive.

Portable computers like laptop computers or portable audio/video systems like DVD players or other portable devices operate usually on battery power. The duration at which e.g. a portable device operates before its battery must be recharged is governed by the level of current which is drawn from the battery, and the total charge the battery is capable of storing. In order to provide a portable device which operates for a long time period before its battery must be recharged, development efforts have focused both on maximizing the total charge carried by such a battery, and on minimizing the current drawn from the battery or on minimizing power consumption by the portable device.

As more and more efficient logic and displays become available, an important factor in determining battery life is the disk drive of the portable device. For that, in order to maximize battery life-time, the efficiency of the disk drive has to be improved.

The U.S. Pat. No. 5,517,649 discloses an adaptive power management for hard disk drives. In this prior art document there is described a method of managing the power consumed by a hard disk drive, whereby in a first step the work load placed on the hard disk drive is measured. The next step is to determine the average power consumed in the disk drive in the active state and in a lower power state for a series of wait times. Then, the total average power consumed by the disk drive for both states for a series of wait times is determined. The next step is to determine the wait time at which the total average power consumed by the disk drive is minimum. The final step is to set the wait time at which the disk drive operates to the previously determined minimum wait time.

The U.S. Pat. No. 5,493,670 discloses a method for managing the power consumed by a disk drive in a portable laptop computer. According to the U.S. Pat. No. 5,493,670 the power in a laptop computer is conserved by spinning down the disk immediately when there is inactivity if the next access will likely occur more than a number of seconds in the future, for example the next access will likely occur far enough in the future for the system to save power by spinning down the disk. According to the method described in this prior art document, the power system spins down a hard disk drive when it has not been accessed after a predetermined length of time. A decision to spin down the disk is made by a computer in response to the past history of the disk activity. The past history of disk activity is also used to adjust the threshold.

Other methods for controlling power consumption of a disk drive in a portable computer are disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 6,097,679 and in the International PCT Patent Application WO 01/15161 A1.

The present invention provides a motor power controller for a disk drive, especially for a disk drive of a portable device, comprising means defining at least two operation states of said disk drive, a first operation state running a motor of said disk drive continuously, and a second operation state spinning said motor up at the beginning of each data operation and spinning said motor down at the end of each data operation; comprising means transitioning said disk drive from said first operation state to said second operation state when a time interval being longer than a predetermined period of time without any data requests is determined; further comprising means transitioning said disk drive from said second operation state to said first operation state when a predetermined number of time intervals between consecutive data requests are determined all or each of them being smaller than said predetermined period of time.

The motor power controller according to the present invention minimizes the motor energy consumption of the disk drive while the disk drive needs no information or knowledge about the application running, the buffer size or the data request patterns of the portable device to which the disk drive is connected or which the disk drive is part of. The motor power controller according to the present invention is simple and does not increase communications between the disk drive and the portable device or application running thereon.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention the motor power controller comprises means calculating said predetermined period of time from an energy consumption and/or a power consumption of said disk drive.

In addition, the present invention provides a disk drive comprising a motor power controller as defined in the independent claim 7 and a method for controlling the motor power of a disk drive as defined in the independent claim 11.

FIG. 1 shows a state diagram of disk drive motor controller according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 shows a diagram illustrating the power and energy consumption of the disk drive during the first operation state which is also called “continuous-state”; and

FIG. 3 shows a diagram illustrating the power and energy consumption of the disk drive during the second operation state which is also called “spin up/down-state”.

The present invention relates to a motor power controller for a disk drive, especially for a portable optical drive.

According to the present invention, the motor power controller comprises means defining at least two operation states of said disk drive. FIG. 1 shows a so-called state diagram of the disk drive motor controller showing two operational states, namely a first operation state 10 and a second operation state 11. In the first operation state 10 a motor of said disk drive is running continuously also during the time when no data operation is being carried out. The time when no data operation is being carried out is hereinafter called buffer phase. During said second operation state 11 the motor spins up at the beginning of each data operation, namely each read and/or write operation, and spins down at the end of each read and/or write operation. During this second operation state 11 the disk drive motor is not running during the buffer phase. The first operation state 10 is also called “continuous-state” and the second operation state 11 is also called “spin up/down-state” or “default-state”.

It should be noted, that the spinning-down of said motor at the end of each data operation during the second operation state 11 can be performed passively or actively. The phrase “spinning said motor down” is not directed to only one of these two options. The phrase “spinning said motor down” has to be understood in a way that both options fall within the scope of this phrase.

The motor power controller according to the present invention comprises means transitioning the disk drive from the first operation state 10 to the second operation state 11 and from the second operation state 11 to the first operation state 10. The arrow 12 in FIG. 1 illustrates the transition from the first operation state 10 to the second operation state 11. The arrow 13 in FIG. 1 illustrates the transition from the second operation state 11 to the first operation state 10.

According to the present invention, the transition from the first operation state 10—the so-called “continuous-state”—to the second operation state 11—the so-called “spin up/down-state”—takes place, when a time interval longer or larger than a predetermined period of time is determined, without any read and/or write requests occurring during this time interval. This indicates that the portable device, especially the application running thereon, has stopped streaming or that more buffer space has become available. With increasing buffer space the buffer phase increases. Under this condition it is more efficient to allow a motor of a disk drive to stop during the buffer phase and to spin up again before the next read and/or write operation.

The transition from the second operation state 11—the so-called “spin up/down-state”—to the first operation state 10—the so-called “continuous-state”—takes place when a predetermined number a of time intervals between consecutive data requests are determined all being smaller than said predetermined period of time. This indicates that an application with a small buffer size is streaming data to and/or from the disk drive. As more data requests at roughly the same interval can be expected during streaming, it is more energy efficient to have the motor running continuously during the buffer phase.

In the most simple embodiment the predetermined number of time intervals between consecutive data requests could be chosen as α=1. However, it is more efficient and reliable to choose α=3. When α=3 is chosen, the transition from the second operation state 11—the so-called “spin up/down-state”—to the first operation state 10—the so-called “continuous-state”—takes only place when three consecutive time intervals between consecutive data requests are determined, whereby each of the three time intervals has to be smaller than said predetermined period of time. In case only two of the three time intervals would be smaller than said predetermined period, the transition would not take place.

The present invention provides a very simple solution for minimizing the power consumption in a portable or none-portable disk drive without increasing communications between the disk drive and the portable device or the application running thereon.

Preferably, the motor power controller comprises means calculating said predetermined period of time which is used as criteria for the transitioning processes from the energy consumption and the power consumption of the disk drive motor. The invention therefore needs no information about the portable device or the application running thereon.

When the phrase “motor” is used in connection with energy or power consumption, it should be noted this could relate to the energy or power consumption of the motor itself and/or the energy or power consumption of a motor driver and/or the energy or power consumption of motor driver control circuits.

For a drive running in a so-called CLV (constant linear velocity) mode, the bit rate during a read and/or write operation is not dependent on the radius of the disk, because of the fact that the motor rotation frequency or motor rotation speed increases with decreasing disk radius. For a drive running in said CLV mode, the predetermined period of time is calculated from the energy consumption of said drive used for spinning up the disk drive motor and from the power consumption of the disk drive motor during continuous operation of said disk drive, using the following formula: ${t_{CLV} = {\frac{E_{{spin}\text{-}{up}}(r)}{P_{continuous}(r)} + t_{active}}};$ wherein

t_(CLV) is the predetermined period of time for a disk drive operated in the CLV mode;

E_(spin-up) is the energy consumption of said disk drive used for spinning the disk drive motor up;

P_(continuous) is power consumption of said disk drive motor used for spinning the disk when the disk drive is in continuous operation, also during the buffer phase;

r is the disk radius;

and wherein

t_(active) is the time at which said disk drive is active during a data operation.

For a disk drive operated in the CLV mode E_(spin-up) and P_(continuous) are a function of the disk radius r. The time t_(active) is a constant for a disk drive operated in the CLV mode, whereby t _(active)=t_(initialize) +t _(search) +t _(read/write) meaning that t_(active) can be calculated from the time t_(initialize) used to initialize the optics of the disk drive, from the time t_(search) used for search operations and from the time t_(read/write) used for read and write operations. It is also possible, that t_(active) is only a function of t_(read/write) for applications for which no search and initialization operations are necessary.

For a drive running in a so-called CAV (constant angular velocity) mode the bit rate during a read and/or write operation is dependent on the radius of the disk and the predetermined period of time is calculated from the energy consumption of said drive used for spinning up the disk drive motor and from the power consumption of the disk drive motor during continuous operation of said disk drive, using the following formula: ${t_{CAV} = {\frac{E_{{spin}\text{-}{up}}}{P_{continuous}} + {t_{active}(r)}}};$ wherein

t_(CAV) is the predetermined period of time for a disk drive operated in the CAV mode.

For a disk drive operated in the CAV mode E_(spin-up) and P_(continuous) are constant. The time t_(active) is a function of the disk radius r, as t_(read/write) is a function of the disk radius r, for a given amount of data to be accessed. For a disk drive operated in the CAV mode t_(active) can be calculated as follows: t _(active)(r)=t_(initialize) +t _(search) +t _(read/write)(r)

For applications for which no search and initialization operations are necessary, t_(active)(r) is only a function of t_(read/write)(r).

In the CLV and the CAV mode, the radius of the last access to the disk drive can be used for the calculation of the predetermined period of time t_(CLV) or t_(CAV). The best result can be achieved when consecutive data request are for data from about the same radius, e.g. when streaming a large contiguous file.

FIG. 2 shows a diagram illustrating the power consumption P of the disk drive over the time t during the first operation state 10, FIG. 3 shows a diagram illustrating the power consumption P of the disk drive during the second operation state 11. The power or energy consumption during t_(active) is for both operations states the same. For the first operation state 10 (“continuous-state”, see FIG. 2) the energy consumption E_(continuous) used by the motor during buffer phase in the continuous mode is illustrated by a hatched rectangle. The duration of buffer phase is characterized by the time t_(buffer), whereby: E _(continuous) ==P _(continuous) *t _(buffer)

For the second operation state 11 “spin up/down-state”, see FIG. 3) the energy consumption E_(spin-up) of the motor is also illustrated by a hatched rectangle. The duration of the spin-up phase of the motor is characterized by the time t_(spin-up) whereby: E _(spin-up) =P _(spin-up) *t _(spin-up).

The predetermined period of time t_(CLV) or t_(CAV) used as criteria for the transitioning of the disk drive from the first operation state 10 to the second operation state 11 and from the second operation state 11 to the first operation state 10 is chosen in a way that the energy consumption E_(continuous) and the energy consumption E_(spin-up) illustrated by the hatched rectangles in FIGS. 2 and 3 are equal.

The above described motor power controller and method is preferably part of a drive, especially of a portable optical disk drive.

The present invention can be used in all devices incorporating a disk drive, especially an optical disk drive, e.g. in audio/video systems, in laptop computers and the like. 

1. Motor power controller for a disk drive, especially for a disk drive of a portable device, comprising means defining at least two operation states of said disk drive, a first operation state running a motor of said disk drive continuously, and a second operation state spinning said motor up at the beginning of each data operation and spinning said motor down at the end of each data operation, comprising means transitioning said disk drive from said first operation state to said second operation state when a time interval being longer than a predetermined period of time without any data requests is determined, further comprising means transitioning said disk drive from said second operation state to said first operation state when a predetermined number of time intervals between consecutive data requests are determined all or each of them being smaller than said predetermined period of time.
 2. Controller according to claim 1, characterized by means calculating said predetermined period of time from an energy consumption and/or a power consumption of said disk drive.
 3. Controller according to claim 2, characterized in that said means calculate said predetermined period of time from the energy consumption of said disk drive used for spinning said disk drive motor up and from the power consumption of said disk drive motor during continuous operation of said disk drive.
 4. Controller according claim 2, characterized in that the disk drive is operated at a CLV (Constant Linear Velocity) mode, wherein said means calculate said predetermined period of time using the following formula: ${t_{CLV} = {\frac{E_{{spin}\text{-}{up}}(r)}{P_{continuous}(r)} + t_{active}}};$ wherein t_(CLV) is the predetermined period of time; E_(spin-up) is the energy consumption of said disk drive used for spinning the disk drive motor up; P_(continuous) is power consumption of said disk drive motor used for spinning the disk when the disk drive is in continuous operation, also during the buffer phase; t_(active) is the time at which said disk drive is active during a data operation; r is the disk radius.
 5. Controller according claim 2, characterized in that the disk drive is operated at a CAV (Constant Angular Velocity) mode, wherein said means calculate said predetermined period of time using the following formula: ${t_{CAV} = {\frac{E_{{spin}\text{-}{up}}}{P_{continuous}} + {t_{active}(r)}}};$ wherein t_(CAV) is the predetermined period of time; E_(spin-up) is the energy consumption of said disk drive used for spinning the disk drive motor up; P_(continuous) is power consumption of said disk drive motor used for spinning the disk when the disk drive is in continuous operation, also during the buffer phase; t_(active) is the time at which said disk drive is active during a data operation; r is the disk radius.
 6. Controller according to claim 1, characterized in that said data operations are read and/or write operations.
 7. Disk drive comprising a motor power controller, said motor power controller comprising: means defining at least two operation states of said disk drive, a first operation state running a motor of said disk drive continuously, and a second operation state spinning said motor up at the beginning of each data operation and spinning said motor down at the end of each data operation, means transitioning said disk drive from said first operation state to said second operation state when a time interval being longer than a predetermined period of time without any data requests is determined, means transitioning said disk drive from said second operation state to said first operation state when a predetermined number of time intervals between consecutive data requests are determined all or each of them being smaller than said predetermined period of time.
 8. Disk drive according to claim 7, characterized in that said motor power controller comprises means calculating said predetermined period of time from an energy consumption and/or a power consumption of said disk drive.
 9. Disk drive according to claim 8, characterized in that said means calculate said predetermined period of time from the energy consumption of said disk drive used for spinning said disk drive motor up and from the power consumption of said disk drive motor during continuous operation of said disk drive.
 10. Disk drive according to claim 7, characterized by a motor power controller for a disk drive, especially for a disk drive of a portable device, comprising means defining at least two operation states of said disk drive, a first operation state running a motor of said disk drive continuously, and a second operation state spinning said motor up at the beginning of each data operation and spinning said motor down at the end of each data operation, comprising means transitioning said disk drive from said first operation state to said second operation state when a time interval being longer than a predetermined period of time without any data requests is determined, further comprising means transitioning said disk drive from said second operation state to said first operation state when a predetermined number of time intervals between consecutive data requests are determined all or each of them being smaller than said predetermined period of time.
 11. Method for controlling the motor power of a disk drive, especially of a disk drive of a portable device, comprising the following steps: defining at least two operation states of said disk drive, a first operation state running a motor of said disk drive continuously, and a second operation state spinning said motor up at the beginning of each data operation and spinning said motor down at the end of each data operation, transitioning said disk drive from said first operation state to said second operation state when a time interval being longer than a predetermined period of time without any data requests is determined, transitioning said disk drive from said second operation state to said first operation state when a predetermined number of time intervals between consecutive data requests are determined all or each of them being smaller than said predetermined period of time.
 12. Method according to claim 11, characterized in that said predetermined period of time is calculated from an energy consumption and/or a power consumption of said disk drive.
 13. Method according to claim 11, characterized in that said predetermined period of time is calculated from the energy consumption of said disk drive used for spinning said disk drive motor up and from the power consumption of said disk drive motor during continuous operation of said disk drive.
 14. Method according to claim 12, characterized by operating the disk drive at a CLV (Constant Linear Velocity) mode, and calculating said predetermined period of time using the following formula: ${t_{CLV} = {\frac{E_{{spin}\text{-}{up}}(r)}{P_{continuous}(r)} + t_{active}}};$ wherein t_(CLV) is the predetermined period of time; E_(spin-up) is the energy consumption of said disk drive used for spinning the disk drive motor up; P_(continuous) is power consumption of said disk drive motor used for spinning the disk when the disk drive is in continuous operation, also during the buffer phase; t_(active) is the time at which said disk drive is active during a data operation; r is the disk radius.
 15. Method according to claim 12, characterized by operating the disk drive at a CAV (Constant Angular Velocity) mode, and calculating said predetermined period of time using the following formula: ${t_{CAV} = {\frac{E_{{spin}\text{-}{up}}}{P_{continuous}} + {t_{active}(r)}}};$ wherein t_(CAV) is the predetermined period of time; E_(spin-up) is the energy consumption of said disk drive used for spinning the disk drive motor up; P_(continuous) is power consumption of said disk drive motor used for spinning the disk when the disk drive is in continuous operation, also during the buffer phase; t_(active) is the time at which said disk drive is active during a data operation; r is the disk radius.
 16. Method according to claim 11, characterized in that said data operations are read and/or write operations. 